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Thứ Sáu, 16 tháng 12, 2016

Saturday of the Third Week in Advent

Jacob called his sons and said to them:“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,listen to Israel, your father.

“You, Judah, shall your brothers praise–your hand on the neck of your enemies;the sons of your father shall bow down to you.Judah, like a lion’s whelp,you have grown up on prey, my son.He crouches like a lion recumbent,the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?The scepter shall never depart from Judah,or the mace from between his legs,While tribute is brought to him,and he receives the people’s homage.”

R. (see 7) Justice
shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.O God, with your judgment endow the king,and with your justice, the king’s son;He shall govern your people with justiceand your afflicted ones with judgment. R. Justice
shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.The mountains shall yield peace for the people,and the hills justice.He shall defend the afflicted among the people,save the children of the poor.R. Justice
shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.Justice shall flower in his days,and profound peace, till the moon be no more.May he rule from sea to sea,and from the River to the ends of the earth.R. Justice
shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.May his name be blessed forever;as long as the sun his name shall remain.In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. R. Justice
shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia,
alleluia.O Wisdom of our God Most High,guiding creation with power and love:come to teach us the path of knowledge!R. Alleluia,
alleluia.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac,Isaac the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron,Hezron the father of Ram,Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,Nahshon the father of Salmon,Salmon the father of Boaz,whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed,whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse,Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon,whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,Rehoboam the father of Abijah,Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham,Jotham the father of Ahaz,Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,Manasseh the father of Amos,Amos the father of Josiah.Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothersat the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile,Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim,Eliakim the father of Azor,Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim,Achim the father of Eliud,Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan,Matthan the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Thus the total number of generationsfrom Abraham to Davidis fourteen generations;from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,fourteen generations.

Do you know who your ancestors were, where they came
from, and what they passed on from their generation to the next? Genealogies
are very important. They give us our roots and help us to understand our
heritage. Matthew's genealogy of Jesus traces his lineage from Abraham, the
father of God's chosen people, through the line of David, King of Israel. Jesus
the Messiah is the direct descent of Abraham and David, and the rightful heir
to David's throne. God in his mercy fulfilled his promises to Abraham and to
David that he would send a Savior and a King to rule over the house of Israel
and to deliver them from their enemies.

The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all God's
promises
When Jacob blessed his sons he foretold that Judah would receive the promise of
royalty which we see fulfilled in David (Genesis 49:10). We can also see in
this blessing a foreshadowing of God's fulfillment in raising up his anointed
King, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus is the fulfillment of all God's promises. He is
the hope not only for the people of the Old Covenant but for all nations as
well. He is the Savior of the world who redeems us from slavery to sin and
Satan and makes us citizens of the kingdom of God. In him we receive adoption
into a royal priesthood and holy nation as sons and daughters of the living God
(see 1 Peter 1:9). Do you recognize your spiritual genealogy and do you accept
God as your Father and Jesus as the sovereign King and Lord of your life?

"Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Messiah and
Savior of the world, the hope of Israel and the hope of the nations. Be the
ruler of my heart and the king of my home. May there be nothing in my life that
is not under your wise rule and care."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Judah who received the promise of royalty
foreshadows the Christ the King, by Rufinus (340-410 AD)

"This can be referred to the historical Judah as
well as to those kings who were his descendants (Genesis 49:8-10). They broke
the back of their enemies by administering the kingdom of that people. But this
can also be fittingly referred to Christ, who is praised with good reason by his
brothers, that is, by the apostles whom he himself called brothers in the
Gospel. And his enemies, on whose back is his hand, appear to be those whom the
Father promised to place under his feet by saying, 'Sit at my right hand until
I place your enemies under your feet' (Psalm 110:1). They are enemies as long
as they are unbelieving and unfaithful, and for that reason they are struck on
the back. But after their conversion they become brothers and praise the One
who, by summoning them to the adoption of the Father, has made them his coheirs
and brothers. It is said correctly that the back of the enemies is struck by
Christ. All those who worshiped the idols turned their back to God, as the
Lord, through the prophet, accused them by saying, 'They turned their backs to
me, and not their faces' (Jeremiah 2:27). Therefore he strikes their back so
that after being converted they may turn their back to the idols and raise
their forehead to God and may accomplish what is written here: 'Your father's
sons shall bow down before you.' In fact, they adore him when they have become
sons of the Father and have received the spirit of adoption in which they cry
out, 'Abba, Father' (Romans 8:15-16)." No one calls Jesus Christ Lord
except those who are in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). (excerpt from THE BLESSINGS OF THE PATRIARCHS
1.5)

[Rufinus of Aquileia (340-410) was a friend of the
Bible scholar Jerome, and, like Jerome, he departed from Italy to live in the
East. For many years he lived in monasteries in Egypt and in Palestine,
acquiring the learning of the Eastern churches. Towards the end of his life he
returned to Italy and occupied himself in translating works of the earlier
Greek Fathers into Latin.]

KEY
VERSE: "Of her was born Jesus who is called the
Messiah" (v 16).TO
KNOW: Matthew may have written his gospel around 85 CE to
a predominately Jewish-Christian community in Syria. In the opening words of
his gospel, Matthew used three titles for Jesus: “the Messiah, the son of
David, the son of Abraham," to show that Jesus was the realization of the
Old Testament Messianic hopes. Matthew traced Jesus' lineage from the glorious
days of the monarchy under King David and his son Solomon to the agonizing days
of the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonia captivity. Jesus is the anointed
one, the Messiah (Christ). He is the messianic king, the "Son of
David," fulfilling the promise that his kingdom would be everlasting (2 Sm
7:16). He is the faithful "Son of Abraham" fulfilling the promises
that all nations would be blessed through him (Gn 12:3). In addition, the
virginal birth showed that Jesus was the "Son of God." There were
some surprises in Jesus' family tree. Except for Mary, the other women
mentioned were all non-Jews (Tamar, Rehab, Ruth and Bathsheba, the wife of
Uriah). Jesus' genealogy revealed that he came for the salvation of all people
regardless of race, nationality or gender.TO
LOVE: Lord Jesus, thank you for allowing me to belong to
your family.TO
SERVE: Is my family in a relationship with Jesus Christ?
What can I do to help them?

O ANTIPHONS, December 17-23

The O Antiphons refer to the seven antiphons that
are recited (or chanted) preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy
of the Hours. They cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the
Octave before Christmas, Dec. 17-23, with Dec. 24 being Christmas Eve and
Vespers for that evening being for the Christmas Vigil. The importance of O
Antiphons is twofold: Each one highlights a title for the Messiah: O Sapientia
(O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Sacred Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Flower of Jesse's Stem),
O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Radiant Dawn), O Rex Gentium (O
King of all the Nations), and O Emmanuel. Each one refers to the prophecy of
Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. The "O Antiphons" were first
used by the Church in the 8th and 9th centuries. In these "O
Antiphons" the Church expresses her longing for the coming of the Messiah.
The Advent hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is based on the "O
Antiphons."

O WISDOM,
Saturday, December 17

Today's O Antiphon is "O Sapientia" (O Wisdom). We are drawn
into the Old Testament's wisdom literature. Wisdom is a divine attribute. The
divine Wisdom is personified. Wisdom is the beloved daughter who was before
Creation, Wisdom is the breath of God's power, Wisdom is the shining of God's
transforming glory. (See Wisdom 8:1.)

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who orders all things mightily,
to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go.

The very first verse of Matthew proclaims his faith for all who will hear,
namely that Jesus is the Christ.
The same Jesus who we will come to know as Son of God is here announced as the
son of David, and thus a child of Jewish royal lineage – a king in the making,
though not of the sort that was expected. Furthermore, Jesus is the son of
Abraham, the embodied fulfilment of the covenant that God would always
accompany His people.
The genealogy stresses the importance of family in passing on the precious gift
of life, and each generation's important part in the larger story. This
genealogy sets the stage of the entire Gospel proclamation of Jesus the
Messiah's Good News for all generations.

St. Jose Manyanet y
Vives was born on January 7, 1883 in Catalonia, Spain. At the age of five,
José’s mother dedicated him to the Virgin Mary, and later entered the
seminary while still a youth. He was ordained in 1859 and served
as the secretary of the bishop of Urgell, the seminary librarian, and the
chancery administrator before responding to the call to found two religious
congregations.

He founded the Congregation of the Sons of the Holy Family in 1864, and the
Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in 10 years later, both
dedicated to the education and protection of the Christian family, as well
as education and parish ministry.

He also founded several schools and centers, encouraged devotion to the Holy
Family, and wrote many books on issues surrounding the family and spiritual
guidance. Also, in the cultural ambit he worked for the construction of the
Servant of God Antonio Gaudí’s masterpiece, the Temple of the Holy Family
in Barcelona, Spain.

He suffered from physical illnesses all his life, particularly due to two
open wounds in his sides for the last 16 years of his life. He died on
December 17, 1901 in Spain, and was canonized May 16, 2004 by Pope John Paul
II.

1)Opening prayer
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son came among us as one of us,
a human being among other people,
simple, accessible,
yet your human face
and the measure of what a human person is.
Lord, make us discover ourselves in his mirror:
that we are born to be free,
to be unselfish, available, committed.
Free us from our selfishness,
our cowardice and attitudes of conformism,
that we may become a bit
what you want us to be, like your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

3) Reflection
• The genealogy defines the identity of Jesus. He is the “Son of David and
the son of Abraham” (Mt 1, 1; cf 1, 17). Son of David, is the response to the
expectation of the Jews (2 Sam 7, 12-16). Son of Abraham, is a source of
blessings for all nations (Gn 12, 13). Both Jews and Pagans see their hope
realized in Jesus.
• In the patriarchal society of the Jews, the genealogies indicated only
names of men. It is surprising that Matthew indicates also the names of five
women among the ancestors of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (the wife of
Uriah) and Mary. Why does Matthew choose precisely, these four women as
companions of Mary? No queen, no matriarch, none of the fighting women of the
Exodus: Why? This is the question which the Gospel of Matthew leaves for us to
answer.
• In the life of the four women, companions of Mary, there is something
abnormal. The four of them are foreigners, they conceived their sons outside
the normal canons and do not respond to the requirements of the Laws of purity
of the time of Jesus. Tamar, a Canaanite, widow, she disguised herself as a prostitute
to oblige the Patriarch Judah to be faithful to the law, to do his duty and
give her a son (Gn 28, 1-30). Rahab, a Canaanite from Jericho, was a prostitute
who helped the Israelites enter into the Promised Land (Jos 2, 1-21). Ruth, a
Moabite, widow, poor, chose to remain with Naomi and to adhere to the People of
God (Rt 1, 16-18). She took the initiative to imitate Tamar and to go and spend
the night beside the pile of barley, together with Boaz, obliging him to
observe the Law and to give her a son. From the relation between the two, Obed
was born, the ancestor of King David (Rt 3, 1-15; 4, 13-17). Bathsheba, a
Hittite, the wife of Uriah, was seduced, violated and she conceived and became
pregnant from King David, who in addition to this ordered that the husband of
the woman be killed (2 Sam 11, 1-27). The way of acting of these four women did
not correspond to the traditional norms. In the meantime these were the
initiatives, which were not really conventional, which gave continuity to the
lineage of Jesus and led all the people to the salvation of God. All this makes
us think and challenges us when we attribute too much value to the rigidity of
the norms.
• The calculation of 3 X 14 generations (Mt 1, 17) has a symbolical
significance. Three is the number of the divinity. Fourteen is the double of
seven. Seven is the perfect number. By means of this symbolism Matthew
expresses the conviction of the first Christians according to which Jesus
appears in the time established by God. With his coming history reaches its
plenitude, its fullness.

4) Personal questions
• Which is the message which you discover in the genealogy of Jesus? Have
you found a response which Matthew leaves for us to answer?
• The companions of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, are very different from
what we imagined them. Which is the conclusion which you can draw regarding
your devotion to the Blessed Virgin?

5) Concluding Prayer
May his name be blessed for ever,
and endure in the sight of the sun.
In him shall be blessed every race in the world,
and all nations call him blessed. (Ps 72, 17)